Afterschool Charisma | |
放課後のカリスマ (Hokago no Charisma) | |
---|---|
Genre | Fantasy, thriller[1] |
Manga | |
Written by | Kumiko Suekane |
Published by | Shogakukan |
English publisher | |
Imprint | Ikki Comix |
Magazine | Monthly Ikki |
Demographic | Seinen |
Original run | April 25, 2008 – September 25, 2014 |
Volumes | 12 |
Afterschool Charisma (Japanese: 放課後のカリスマ, Hepburn: Hokago no Charisma) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kumiko Suekane. It was serialized in Shogakukan's seinen manga magazine Monthly Ikki from April 2008 to September 2014, and its chapters were compiled by Shogakukan and released into twelve volumes. The manga is licensed in North America by Viz Media, and is partially available online at their website.[2] It is also licensed in Taiwan by Tohan.[3]
In developing the manga, Suekane felt it would be interesting to have "many great personages" together, and so she conceived of the idea of cloning them and putting them into the same world.[4]
St. Kleio Academy is a very exclusive high school which restricts its enrollment to the clones of famous historical figures. The only exception seems to be the new transfer student Shirou Kamiya, the son of one of the main scientists involved in the cloning project. Shirou does his best to fit in, however, many of his classmates envy him because of the privilege he has as a human being even though Shirou wants nothing more than to help his new friends. Unlike Shirou, whose destiny has not been predetermined by history, the clones must closely study the achievements of their originals so that they can finish what their originals started. The students become ever more fearful of their futures, however, when the clone of John F. Kennedy is assassinated during his first presidential campaign in a manner similar to his original and they begin to seek out ways to alter their allegedly inevitable fates.
Written and illustrated by Kumiko Suekane, Afterschool Charisma was serialized in Shogakukan's Monthly Ikki from April 25, 2008,[5] to September 25, 2014.[6] Shogakukan collected its chapters in twelve tankōbon volumes, released from July 29, 2009,[7] to November 28, 2014.[8]
In North America, the series has been licensed for English language release by Viz Media.[9]
No. | Original release date | Original ISBN | English release date | English ISBN |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | July 29, 2009[7] | 978-4-09-188466-4 | June 15, 2010[10] | 978-1421533971 |
2 | May 29, 2009[11] | 978-4-09-188467-1 | January 18, 2011[12] | 978-1421533988 |
3 | November 30, 2009[13] | 978-4-09-188487-9 | June 21, 2011[14] | 978-1421537269 |
4 | June 30, 2010[15] | 978-4-09-188519-7 | October 18, 2011[16] | 978-1421540214 |
5 | December 25, 2010[17] | 978-4-09-188535-7 | January 17, 2012[18] | 978-1421540801 |
6 | June 30, 2011[19] | 978-4-09-188548-7 | July 10, 2012[20] | 978-1421542171 |
7 | January 30, 2012[21] | 978-4-09-188572-2 | January 15, 2013[22] | 978-1421549224 |
8 | July 30, 2012[23] | 978-4-09-188593-7 | October 15, 2013[24] | 978-1421558912 |
9 | February 28, 2013[25] | 978-4-09-188617-0 | April 15, 2014[26] | 978-1421562360 |
10 | November 8, 2013[27] | 978-4-09-188636-1 | December 16, 2014[28] | 978-1421573472 |
11 | October 30, 2014[29] | 978-4-09-188666-8 | December 15, 2015[30] | 978-1421581262 |
12 | November 28, 2014[8] | 978-4-09-188669-9 | December 20, 2016[31] | 978-1421583921 |
Deb Aoki, writing for About.com, enjoyed the "inventive premise" of the series, feeling that the use of historical figures added to the characterisation of the clones.[32] Comic Book Bin's Leroy Douresseaux's first impression was of "a rather peculiar boarding school drama", but felt that the development of the story signalled the manga was about "more than teen angst", describing it as an "engrossing read".[33] Katherine Dacey of Manga Critic felt the story had potential that hadn't "gelled yet" at the conclusion of the first volume.[34]